What is a still wine?

You may have heard of still wines at one time or another, but what is a still wine? Still wines are those that have been obtained through the natural alcoholic fermentation of the must (i.e. the juice of the grape).

The fermentation must occur naturally by the action of yeasts that are responsible for transforming the juice into wine. Unlike what happens in sparkling wines, the production of these wines does not usually generate high amounts of carbon dioxide gas.

So we can point out that still wines are those that do not have bubbles, generated by the presence of carbon dioxide, either natural or induced. Let us know in greater depth what a still wine is.

Characteristics of still wines

As a general rule, still wines are dry wines. Still wines usually have an alcohol content that ranges from a minimum of 8.5º to a maximum of 14.5º. These wines can be white, rosé or red, but never sparkling.

In other words, still wine is the traditional wine we all know, which comes from the fermentation of the grape. It is that simple. Nothing is added to these wines to increase their alcohol content. There is no presence of carbon dioxide that could alter its appearance. The elaboration process has common characteristics.

Types of still wines

Within the still wines we can find:

• Dry wines: Those with less than 5g of sugar per litre of wine.
• Semi-dry wines: Those with between 5 and 30g of sugar per litre of wine.
• Semi-sweet wines: These wines have between 30 and 50g of sugar per litre of wine.
• Sweet wines: They have more than 50g of sugar per litre of wine.

Now that you know what a still wine is, let’s find out exactly what the current legislation says about this type of wine.

What is a still wine (according to the current legislation)?

As stated in Article 54 of Council Regulation (EC) No 1493/1999 of 17 May 1999 on the common organisation of the market in wine, still wines are those that are not liqueur wines, not sparkling wines and not semi-sparkling wines. This regulation states that:

Furthermore, Article 2(f) of Law 24/2003 of 10 July 2003 on vineyards and wine states that: ‘Quality still wines produced in specified regions’ (hereinafter quality wines psr) are those quality wines produced in specified regions as referred to in Article 54(2)(d) of Regulation (EC) No 1493/1999.

It is also worth noting that the International Organisation of Vine and Wine (OIV) indicates that still wine is that which has or contains a carbon dioxide concentration of less than 4 g/l at 20 °C